The fictitious state of Poyais was promoted in the 1820's by
General "Sir" Gregor MacGregor as a means of raising
fraudulent loans. He had obtained a land grant from a local
Indian king in what would now be Belize, and on this basis
created an entirely fictitious state with himself as ruler. To
bolster his claims he provided detailed accounts not only of the
country's geography and economic resources but of its state coat
of arms, military uniforms etc., including the national flag,
which was a green St. George's Cross on a white background. He
went so far as to send out colonists (most of whom never
returned) and this flag was actually hoisted on the ship wich
carried them. For all this see "Sir Gregor MacGregor and the
land that never was " by David Sinclair(Headline Books,
2003, 0 7553 1079 9), especially page 9.Kenneth Fraser, 1 June 2005